Bento
by KingPolar
Summary: Zero Two makes a bento for Hiro. Zero Two also has no concept of taste. - Or a story detailing Zero Two's journey to make her Darling a nice meal. Modern!AU (MinorXOver with Gurren Lagann Kill La Kill)
1. Chapter 1

"Daaarling!" The call came from behind Hiro as he made his way down a hallway.

Turning around, his eyes widened at the sight of Zero Two in a full sprint. Opening his arms, Hiro grunted as Zero Two threw herself at him, barely managing to stay upright with her sudden impact.

Laughing at her enthusiasm, Hiro looked down at Zero Two with a wide smile. Arms wrapped around his waist and her chin on his chest, she looked right back up with a massive grin. "I've missed you, darling!"

"Zero Two, I was only gone for an hour," he replied with a chuckle. "An hour too long," she pouted. Hiro laughed again and began to softly pet the top of her head. Humming in contentment, Zero Two happily accepted his affectionate touches.

As usual for his Student Council Vice-President duties, Hiro had been pulled out of class to help the school prepare for the upcoming Sports Festival. This very much annoyed Zero Two, who had been looking forward to wasting time with her darling. The longer he was gone, the more irritated she had become, and so Zero Two has made it her top priority to find her darling the second after the end of school bell rang.

Suddenly, she shot straight up, surprising Hiro and causing him to stumble back a bit with a small yelp. "Ah, darling! I just remembered!"

The excitement in her eyes naturally made Hiro slightly wary (a reaction learned from experience), so he cautiously replied. "Yes, Zero Two?

She grinned widely with her teeth bared, showing off her sharp canines. "Tomorrow, don't bring a lunch. I have a surprise for you!"

"A surprise?" Hiro raised an eyebrow. "Should I guess what it is?"

"Nooo, then it won't be a surprise, darling." Zero Two admonished with a smile. She leaned in to place a quick kiss on his nose. "C'mon, let's go!" She exclaimed, grabbing his hand with her own. "We've got better things to do than waste our time in this boring old school."

Zero Two took off, dragging a laughing Hiro behind her.

* * *

The next morning, after spending all of yesterday with Hiro, Zero Two woke up bright and early to work on her surprise. She was alone in the kitchen, humming a song only she could hear as she danced around. A pot of mysterious substance was bubbling on the stove. Prancing over to it, she spooned out a small sample. Tasting it tentatively, Zero Two frowned. She began digging around in the pantries and emerged victoriously a short while later with a box of sugar.

Sprinkling a bit of it into the pot, she tried the strange concoction another time. Smacking her lips to try and get a better feel for the taste, Zero Two shrugged, and just dumped half the box of sugar into the pot. Grabbing a nearby spoon, she stirred the mixture for a couple minutes humming happily before throwing the spoon aside, satisfied.

Picking up the heavy pot with disturbing strength, Zero Two hefted it over to the kitchen island to slam it down next to a plate that held a surprisingly well-grilled fish, a small bowl of steamed vegetables, another small bowl of rice, and for some reason, a bag of candy. Reaching down to one of the cupboards, she pulled out a bento box. Carefully, she began putting her work of art together. After pouring the entire bag of candy into the rice and stirring for a short while, she scooped a couple spoonfuls of the mixture into the bento. Next came the steamed vegetables which were snugly tucked into the side. The mysterious soup had a small portion of the box reserved for it, and the grilled fish was neatly placed over the top half of the candy and rice.

Grabbing one of the carrots, she delicately cut out a couple slices of the carrot that she then used with some of the smaller candy to design little smiley faces, placing them under the fish. Zero Two stared at her work with a pensive expression on her face. "Ah, right!" She suddenly exclaimed with a snap of her fingers, a habit picked up from Goro. "The honey! How could I forget the honey?"

She returned to the pantries and dug out one of her countless jars of honey. Unscrewing the cap, she simply dumped a considerable amount of honey all over the fish, vegetables, and rice candy mixture. She paused and then shrugged, pouring some of the honey into the soup as well. The sugar probably wasn't enough, she thought. This honey will make it better. After all, you can't go wrong with more honey.

Smiling proudly, Zero Two looked at her work of art. She quickly wiped a bit of drool away. This was for her darling - not her, as delicious it looked. She placed the cap over the bento box and carefully wrapped it up in a red cloth with a cute little bow on top. Hiding the bento at the bottom of her school bag, Zero Two hurried out to try and catch Hiro at the street corner they usually met at on their way to school. She couldn't wait for lunch! Her darling was going to be so happy!

* * *

For almost all day, Hiro could see how hard Zero Two was working to contain her excitement. She was bouncing all over the place, often throwing excited glances his way. Once the lunch bell finally rang, Zero Two instantly once again grabbed Hiro by the hand and sped off to the roof, where the two usually ate their lunch together.

The second they reached the bench on top of the school and sat down, Zero Two hurriedly dug inside her school bag to bring out the cloth wrapped bento, presenting it to Hiro with a beautiful smile.

All but bouncing in place with excitement, Zero Two announced, "Here, darling! I made this for you!"

For most people, her enthusiasm might have been frightening. But Hiro was used to it by now, and it was actually one of the many many things he loved about her. Not that it was very hard: Zero Two was damn near perfect in every way, and Hiro would fight anyone who said otherwise.

Unfortunately, 'near perfect in every way' didn't seem to quite extend to her cooking skills. It's not that she was bad, per say, she just had such a warped sense of taste that no one except maybe Futoshi could handle whatever she conjured up, and even that was debatable. The bento Zero Two held before him was a prime example of that.

Fish, steamed vegetables, and rice covered in honey with a decently sized portion of some mysterious liquid that even now bubbled after hours of its creation. The entire meal simply reeked of sugar. Hiro stared in disbelief at what his girlfriend had wrought.

"Is that candy in the rice?"

"Yep yep!" Beamed Zero Two. He noticed she was slightly drooling at the sight of her own creation. Quickly, with a speed comparable to some of the great strategic brains in history, Hiro came up with an idea. His goal in mind, he executed Plan: Avoid Sugar Overdose While Keeping Dino-Girlfriend Happy, aka ASOWKDGH. He'd have to work on that.

With swift precision, Hiro skillfully shifted their positioning, maneuvering Zero Two's legs over his lap, bringing her closer to his side and allowing him to steal the super sugar coated bento and take it out of her hands. Hiro held it close to Zero Two's face, right under her nose, and slowly wafted the sweet smell up to her. She was becoming cross-eyed trying to look at the bento held in front of her. How adorable, Hiro thought offhandedly.

"Geez, Zero Two, this looks sooo delicious," Hiro praised, "but I don't know if I can eat it all… whatever shall I do?" He sighed mournfully.

When Zero Two's eyes began rapidly flickering back and forth between the bento and his face, Hiro mentally smirked. Leaning in close, he began to slowly place soft kisses right behind her ear - one of the many weak spots he knew she had. When she shivered in his lap and he saw her close her eyes as she bit back a small moan, Hiro went in for the kill.

Placing the bento on Zero Two's lap, he slowly picked up a mouthful of honey covered candy and rice, making sure she could see his every move. Once Hiro was sure Zero Two was following his chopsticks with all the concentration she could muster while he was kissing her, he slowly lifted the rice up to her slightly ajar lips. On the next kiss, Hiro pressed particularly hard right into the base of her ear, and when Zero Two opened her mouth in a silent moan, he took the chance to gently nudge the chopstick past her lips.

Hiro smirked against her skin when she made a small noise of satisfaction at the sugary treat. Reaching one of his arms around her back to slowly began massaging her other ear while he continued to kiss the one closest to him, Hiro began the slow but extremely enjoyable task of feeding Zero Two her own lunch.

The soft noises she made, the quiet whines and held back moans were all music to his ears. Hiro was faintly reminded of back when he had first met Zero Two as a young child, and how the sweets he had given her then seemed just as effective now. Although, Hiro thought as a particularly loud moan made it past her lips, he definitely enjoyed these sounds now much more than the ones from back then.

Before long, the bento was empty, and a shallow breathing Zero Two sat in Hiro's lap trying to recover, eyes half-lidded. She pouted. "That wasn't very fair, darling."

"I don't know, Zero Two," Hiro brightly smiled back in response, "I rather enjoyed it."

Zero Two quickly buried her face in the crook of his neck with a loud hmph. That stupid smile of his was entirely unfair. She hoped he couldn't feel the heat of her blush, but his laugh quickly proved otherwise. "Shut up," she grumbled softly.

When complete silence was her answer, she looked up questioningly. The intense way Hiro was gazing down at her surprised Zero Two, his icy blue eyes seeming to freeze her in place. One of his hands rose to gently cup her cheek, and he leaned in for a kiss. Zero Two all but melted into his arms.

Once the two were out of breath, they separated their lips, foreheads still touching.

"Thank you, Zero Two."

"Hmm?"

"For taking time to make me a meal."

She rolled her eyes. "Even when you didn't eat any of it?"

Hiro softly laughed. "To be honest, I enjoyed my way much more."

His smile grew sinister.

"After all, who knew you could make such," he leaned in close to whisper in her ear, "beautiful sounds?"

Zero Two shoved Hiro away, blush returning with a vengeance as he comically fell off the bench laughing.

"I'll show you," she grumbled, turning her back to him stubbornly. "I'll get better at cooking and force you to enjoy my food."

Hiro stood up with a smile. "I'll be looking forward to it." He walked up next to her and wrapped her in a warm embrace, chin resting on her shoulder. Zero Two leaned her head against his, and softly sighed in contentment.

* * *

Later, a thought came to Zero Two. "Hey darling, Simon said Nia-senpai was a good cook, didn't he?"

Hiro, focused on the virtual battle he was having with Goro, answered distractedly. "Yeah, but I'm pretty sure Simon-senpai ate rats for most his life. Everything tastes good to that guy."

Zero Two thoughtfully rubbed her chin. "Hmmm…"

* * *

I've decided to put the author's note at the end of the story, because that just makes a lot more sense when I think about it.

Yeah, Zero Two has horns. Who cares if it's a Modern High School AU, those horns are a work of god and should not be altered in any way.

Just something sweet(hah) I wanted to write in the aftermath of Ep15. Oh, Ep15, you beautiful, beautiful episode. A couple of you said you wanted to hear my thoughts on it in the reviews of my "Comforting a Grumpy Dino" fic, so here they are: it was practically everything I wanted to see after Ep14! Some info on the Nines, more mecha badassery, Ichigo realizing she'll never get Hiro, Goro being a Gobro, Hiro and Zero Two reunited in the most amazing and heartwarming way, and even a new Strelizia form! Most important of all is that we finally saw a bit of Zero Two's real personality. Of course I'll keep the flirty and confident Zero Two we've seen early in the series, but there'll definitely be some more emotion and softness than before. Absolutely without a doubt the best episode so far, completely destroying Ep6 and Ep13 in every possible way; combat animation, character development, story progression, and HiroTwo moments. I just hope that with all the drama the two have dealt with so far, their relationship is here to stay. They've already gone through and resolved all their problems and personality flaws, just let them stay together like a happy couple, please for the love of god.

In other news, I'll probably finally start writing stuff in other fandoms, so sorry in advance to all those here exclusively for DitF. I've got my eye on some BnHA stuff (after I finish binge-watching it this weekend), and maybe I'll finally start my Pokémon fic. Definitely have to also get more RyukoxSatuski stuff out there. Of course, I'll be sure to still get some more HiroZero works out. DitF will always be #1 to me.

So yeah. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a review! I honestly can't describe how happy it makes me feel when someone says they loved my work or something like that. The next, and final, chapter will be out sooner or later. Probably later. Inspiration and motivation are fickle bitches, especially since it features a character whose personality is so very hard to get down right.

Edit#1 - 4/28/2018 - 12:58 Pacific Time Zone: Realized I forgot to add some changes done in the original doc to the cooking scene.


	2. Chapter 2

Zero Two continues on her journey to make Hiro the perfect lunch, so she goes to her senpai Nia for some help. Nia is more than willing to help out.

XxX-xXx-XxX

"Hey, Hiro." The person in question happily turned away from his rather one-sided conversation with Goro about the finer points of fishing, thankful for the chance to get away. The tall bespectacled boy was a good friend, always dependable, but the topic of fishing seemed to unlock some hidden side of him that would literally never stop talking.

"Sorry Goro, we can continue this conversation later," Hiro said with a gentle smile, stepping away from his friend. Goro simply waved off his apology with a knowing grin.

Facing the one who called him, Hiro smiled again. "Thanks for the save, Mitsuru. You know how he gets."

Mitsuru scoffed. "Completely unbearable, yes, I'm familiar." Hiro gently laughed at his scowl.

"Anyways, some scruffy looking homeless blonde guy told me to give this to you," said Mitsuru, passing a roughed up letter to Hiro. "Honestly, how can anyone be okay with such a disgusting appearance? He had on rags, for heaven's sake, and looked like an utter beast. The nerve," he ranted with his nose in the air.

Hiro rolled his eyes with a smile at Mitsuru's snobby tone. Ever observant, Mitsuru noticed Hiro's actions and glared at him, before dropping his gaze to the letter. "What's it say?"

Lifting the envelope, Hiro immediately noticed the unique seal - a flaming skull wearing a pair of rather pointy shades with two small waves of fire on either side - the logo of the Dai-Gurren Brigade, a famous and very successful competitive mecha fighting team. "Ah, this must be from Simon-senpai."

"Simon-senpai? That mentor of yours from middle school? You two still talk?" Back when Hiro and others were in their final year of middle school, they had gone through a mentor program with the high school they currently attended where a third-year high schooler had been paired up with a third-year middle schooler. Hiro had gotten the friendly and high-spirited Simon as his mentor and the two had immediately hit it off, continuing to communicate past Simon's graduation. Even the Mecha Club that Simon had inherited from his elder brother was still going strong under Hiro's own leadership.

"Well yeah, we're not all socially inept like you." Mitsuru grumpily hmphed at Hiro's dig. "He's never done something this fancy though. I wonder what he wants?" Mitsuru scoffed. "Why are you asking me?" Ignoring his drama queen friend, Hiro shrugged to himself. "Only one way to find out."

Tearing open the envelope, he pulled out the folded letter within. Flipping it open, Hiro softly groaned at the sight of Simon's familiar handwriting. Perhaps he had hoped Simon had recently improved his penmanship, but the barely eligible chicken-scratch told a different story. Reading the message with squinted eyes, Hiro's eyebrow slowly raised higher and higher. Mitsuru watched with a mildly concerned expression.

"Huh, he says he was told to invite me to his house tomorrow afternoon by his girlfriend for reasons unknown, but apparently Zero Two visited them recently? Something about bringing along Strelizia as well. I wonder what this is about?"

Mitsuru scoffed. "Sounds like a headache to me." He pivoted on his heel and began making his exit. "Be safe, don't die, and get home by 7 am and all that," Mitsuru sarcastically called over his shoulder, running a hand through his hair. "Don't forget, your bedtime is at 9, even on the weekends. Wouldn't want you to get grumpy over lack of sleep."

"Oh shut up." Hiro laughed back.

"God knows what you and Zero Two do at night," Mitsuru muttered under his breath.

"I heard that! I know all about you and Kokoro! You can't hide from me!" Hiro yelled after him. Mitsuru continued to walk away, but Hiro could feel the blush even from the distance he was at. He smirked and mentally thanked Zero Two for that tidbit of information.

XXX-XXX-XXX

The next day, a bright and sunny Saturday, Hiro found himself standing before the small mansion that Simon and Nia resided in. Competitive mecha fighting was a surprisingly lucrative career, and Hiro doubted anyone would be able to defeat Simon's prized Gurren Lagann as long as he was piloting.

Hiro's own mecha Strelizia that he shared with Zero Two was in its specialized travel case beside him as he walked up to the door. Knocking a couple times, Hiro began tidying up his appearance. He had an immense amount of respect for both Simon and Nia, so by no means was he trying to show up in their house looking like a mess.

It seemed all for naught, however, as Simon opened the door in a dirty white shirt and overalls, arms and face stained with oil.

"Ah, Hiro! Come in, come in! Nia and Zero Two just left to go buy some supplies. Apparently, that girlfriend of yours wanted some cooking lessons, and Nia was more than happy to help." Simon ushered Hiro into the house and shut the door behind him.

"Cooking lessons…?" Hiro asked cautiously. Simon laughed. "What, bad experiences with Zero Two's cooking?"

Hiro shrugged, a small smile on his face. "The food itself wasn't the greatest, but I enjoyed the meal pretty well."

"Don't you worry. Nia is a great cook! Anyways, come on in! Nia said the food will take a while, so I got the mecha arena all set up in the living room." Simon said proudly, leading Hiro down a hallway.

"A friend of mine is here too, Viral's his name. He was nice enough to deliver the letter. Did you get to meet him?"

Hiro recalled Mitsuru's rant about a beastly looking homeless blonde man. "Er, no, the letter went to a friend of mine. A friend that had a few choice words for his appearance."

Laughing, Simon nodded. "I keep telling him to clean up himself up or everyone will think he's some crazy homeless guy. Well, it's his life I guess. C'mon, he's probably getting tired of my Gurren Lagann destroying his Enkidudu. He'll be thankful to fight someone else for once."

"He's a mecha fighter too!? That's awesome!" Hiro excitedly exclaimed. Simon smiled at Hiro's enthusiasm. "Yeah, he's usually my co-pilot in the competitive two pilot matches." If anything, the shine in Hiro's eyes grew as he learned more about Viral. The respect he had for competitive pilots was immense. Hiro's passion could be neatly and easily divided among three main things: Zero Two, his friends, and mecha fighting. He had fought hard to maintain the flawless record of the club he had inherited from Simon, and any chance to use his Franxx-class mecha was always a plus for him.

He mentally gave his heartfelt thanks to Zero Two for setting up this reunion with his old mentor as well as for the chance to break out Strelizia against pro-pilots, before eagerly following Simon into the living room to challenge the very much homeless and beastly looking Viral.

Mitsuru had that description pretty spot on, Hiro thought idly as he set down Strelizia against Viral's intimidating six-armed Enkidudu. He grinned as Simon began the countdown and gripped his controllers with excitement.

XXX-XXX-XXX

When there was a couple knocks at the door an hour or two after he arrived, Hiro was the only one to notice, seeing as how Simon was too busy loudly taunting a very angry and equally loud Viral. Even with the handicap of only being allowed to use Lagann, Viral could not find any success against the leader of Team Dai-Gurren.

"I'll get it!" Hiro called out over the intense yelling coming from the two men. Jogging to the door, he opened it - and was immediately tackled to the ground by a pink blur.

As Zero Two peppered his face with quick rapid kisses, he greeted her with a laugh. "Hey, Zero Two."

"I've missed you, darling!" She cried joyously. "We saw each other this morning!" Hiro laughed. "That was hours ago," Zero Two pouted, before returning to covering Hiro with kisses.

From behind her, a soft and gentle giggle could be heard. Craning his neck to look around the pink haired girl on top of him, Hiro smiled up at the pale cream haired woman by the door. "Hey there, Nia."

"Hello Hiro," she smiled back. "Are the boys in the living room?"

Hiro managed to prop his upper body up with his arms, Zero Two now nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck. Laughing at the slightly ticklish feeling, Hiro nodded. "Yeah, when I left they were getting pretty into it."

Nia smiled knowingly. "How typical. Come on, Zero Two, let's get these groceries to the kitchen and start on their meal."

"Hai!" Instantly, Zero Two stood ramrod straight and saluted to the older woman… right in the middle of helping Hiro get up. No longer having someone to support him, Hiro fell back to the ground with a loud yelp. "Oh, darling! Sorry!" She hurried to help her grumbling boyfriend to his feet.

With a laugh like tinkling bells, Nia made her way into the living room, Hiro and Zero Two right behind her. Simon and Viral had their backs turned to the door, too busy with their fight to notice the trio enter the room.

As they walked into the living room, Simon triumphantly shouted, "LAGANN IMPAAACT!" Viral only screamed in rage as Lagann slammed Enkidudu into the ground.

Loudly, Nia announced, "We're baaack!"

Spinning around, Simon's eyes lighted up. "Ah, Nia!" He vaulted over the couch to plant a quick kiss on her head, careful not to get her or her clothes dirty with oil. Viral, mournfully cradling his crumpled mecha, could only sadly greet them. "Princess Nia… Miss Zero Two."

"You boys just stay here and relax. Zero Two and I will get started on our lunch right away! Let's go Zero Two!"

Zero Two looked up from where she had been fiddling with Strelizia next to Hiro. "On my way!" Turning to look at Hiro, she grinned happily. "Nia knows how to cook, darling, so I promise this will be the best meal you've ever had!"

Hiro reached down to squeeze her hand with a smile. "I'll be waiting right here. And I promise to eat every bite this time." He softly pressed a kiss against her lips.

With another happy grin, Zero Two jumped to her feet to follow Nia into the kitchen.

Simon and Viral both smirked at Hiro. When he caught sight of their smug expressions, Hiro groaned and threw the nearest thing he could reach - a couple of pillows - at the laughing pair.

Viral dodged with cat-like ease, leaving Simon to be assaulted by Hiro's pillow barrage.

XXX-XXX-XXX

Once in the kitchen, Nia began teaching an eager Zero Two everything the older woman knew about cooking.

"Let's start with something simple! We'll make a meat stew." Zero Two nodded rapidly, giving Nia her utmost attention - something quite rare for the pink haired girl. Few things were able to make her focus, but learning how to cook for her darling? Was there anything more worthy of her attention?

Leaning down to open one of the cupboards, Nia pulled out a massive pot, hefting it over to the stove and placing it down. Zero Two briefly wondered if it was a coincidence that both of them were far stronger than their significant others, before casting the thought aside.

"The good thing about a stew," Nia smiled brightly, "is that you use practically any ingredient! As long as you have some meat and vegetables, you'll be fine!"

"Hmmm, I see." Zero Two nodded.

"That's why we bought some beef and chicken stock today. Oh! And there's this package of jerky I bought a couple months ago. We can use that too." Nia said, pulling out the packaged beef from the plastic bags. She then went over to the pantry to pull out a half-empty bag of jerky, before dumping that, all of the beef, and the entire can of chicken stock into the pot before starting the stove.

"Of course, some seasoning for taste!" Nia opened another cupboard to pull out two shakers of salt and pepper. "You said you like sweet things too, right?" "Yep!" Zero Two nodded firmly. Nia smiled. "Then why don't we add some sugar too?" She reached further in and pulled out a small bag of sugar.

Returning to the pot, Nia shook all three containers over the pot for a couple seconds. "Now, we have to add some more liquid in there, or it just won't be a stew, right?" 'That makes sense,' Zero Two thought. "So, what's Hiro favorite drink? I usually use Simon's favorite, but since you're making this for Hiro…"

"Uh, be right back!" Zero Two dashed out of the kitchen and returned a couple seconds later. "Milk! Darling said he likes milk!" Smiling at Zero Two's enthusiasm, Nia clapped her hands. "That's perfect! There's some milk in the fridge, can you grab it for me while I get some other stuff ready?" Saluting again, Zero Two hurried to the fridge while Nia began unpacking their groceries, putting some things into the pantry and leaving others on the kitchen table.

Zero Two soon returned to Nia's side with the plastic carton of milk. Untwisting the cap, she almost retched when the smell hit her ultra-sensitive nose. With tears in her eyes and the sleeve of her jacket over her mouth and nose, Zero Two said in a muffled voice, "Nia, I think the milk is spoiled." She glanced at the tiny date on the side. "By three weeks."

Nia tutted. "Don't you know? Milk doesn't really spoil right at the date, it's perfectly fine for a while after that. I read that from an article online." Zero Two raised an eyebrow, sleeve still over her face. "Oh? When does it really expire then?"

Nia smiled blankly at Zero Two. "I don't know, I didn't read that far." Taking the carton from Zero Two, Nia pulled a large kitchen knife out of nowhere and cut open the carton over the pot, dumping all of the chunky milk over the boiling mixture. "Besides, it'll add to the flavor." She said happily.

Unsure, Zero Two slowly nodded. Simon said Nia was a good cook, and her darling trusted Simon, so she would trust her darling.

"Speaking of flavor, let's add some more! This is the perfect time to add fruit and vegetables!"

"Ah, Nia…" Nia turned to Zero Two, who was staring at the ground, sheepishly holding her hands behind her back. "We can't use those fruit. I dropped them and got them all bruised, remember? I'll just go throw them out…" Nia whapped Zero Two's hand that was reaching for the fruit with a wooden spoon. With a yelp, Zero Two jumped back. "It's fine, Zero Two. It'll add to the taste, just like the vegetables and these mushrooms I got outside!"

Gathering all the fruits, vegetables, and the mushrooms that Zero Two was pretty sure still had dirt on them, Nia dumped all of them into the pot. When the pot's cap wouldn't close with all the things inside it, Nia once again pulled out her kitchen knife from nowhere and stabbed the pot's contents multiple times until everything fit under the lid, all with a sincere smile on her face. "There!" She turned around proudly to a skeptical and slightly terrified Zero Two. One of the fruits had splattered a small streak of red liquid across her cheek. "While that boils, we can start on the rice. They can eat the stew with that and the bread we bought!"

With a small sigh of relief, Zero Two nodded. Rice was something she could do. "Hai!" The pink haired girl saluted.

XXX-XXX-XXX

After a while, the three guys had gone from physical mecha fighting to virtual. It was only in the virtual version was Viral able to use his beloved Enki Durga after all, and Simon was also able to fight with four new forms. Hiro was basically salivating at the thought of Strelizia's possible upgrades and had almost fainted when Simon offered him the controls of Gurren Lagann. He had jumped at the chance to pilot the mecha known globally as the best, and was happily destroying virtual enemies with Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann.

Taking a break, Hiro wondered aloud. "Say, why exactly are you here, Viral?"

Viral shrugged. "How could I not jump at the chance to try the cooking of Princess Nia? Simon here is always praising it, and I also save some money too."

Simon grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, but it really is good, I promise. It's too bad Kamina and the others couldn't join us. Who knew they had plans today? Those guys are usually free on Saturday."

"That is rather strange." Viral conceded, nodding slowly. "Oh well," he shrugged. "Come on, boy, I want to you to have a taste of my Tengen Toppa Enki Durga!"

Grinning at the challenge, Hiro took the controllers Simon offered to him. On the screen, Tengen Toppa Solvernia, Nia's own custom mecha that was extremely similar to Strelizia, rose out of the ground in a spiral of green light to face her twelve armed adversary. The drill spear in her hands spun to life. "You're on!"

XXX-XXX-XXX

As Zero Two was scooping bowls of rice out of the rice steamer, she jumped in surprise as something popped and splattered inside the pot.

Nia rushed to turn off the stove and lifted the pot's cover. "It's dooone!" She sang out. Zero Two winced as her nose was once again assaulted, this time by the smell of the pot's contents. She now had doubts about whether or not Nia was truly a good cook. Maybe Simon was just crazy?

As Nia began pouring the stew into a large bowl, Zero Two watched with growing concern at the brown sludge-like substance. Would her darling even be able to eat this? She doubted even she could. But she knew of his respect for Nia and Simon - there's no way he would decline eating in fear of disrespecting the two. What to do, what to do? The longer she thought about it, the more worried Zero Two became.

"Er, Nia, I'll be right back. Is that alright?" Zero Two cautiously asked.

Nia smiled brightly. "Oh, of course! But do hurry. We're about to start eating soon!"

Zero Two rushed out of the kitchen. 'I can't let darling eat this!' She thought worriedly.

Entering the living room, Zero Two ran to where Hiro sat on the edge of the couch watching the other two duke it out on the screen. Normally, she would've been just as interested in the mecha fighting as he was, it being one of their many shared interests, but this was of utmost importance. "Darling! I have to, uh, talk to you about something! Come on comeon comeoncomeon!"

"Wha- Zero Two? Alright alright, I'm on my way!" Hiro was barely able to get off the couch before she dragged him out into the hallway.

"What's the matter, Zero Two?" Hiro asked, confusion on his face.

Gripping his shoulders tight, Zero Two frantically shook him back and forth. "You can't eat the food! I don't think anyone can! You'll die!"

"What? The food that you and Nia cooked together?" Zero Two nodded rapidly. Hiro said with concern, "But that would be rude… and I said I'd eat every bite of what you guys made."

"Darling! She put in pepper, salt, AND sugar! I know I'm not the greatest cook but that can't be okay!" Hiro laughed nervously. "Maybe it's a secret technique…?"

"And mushrooms with dirt on them!"

"A-a secret ingredient?' His face began to pale.

"And three week old milk!"

Hiro looked like he was about to throw up. "Damnit, Mitsuru was right… Simon's insane." He muttered under his breath.

"DAAHLING! What are we gonna do!? Waaah, you're gonna DIE!" Zero Two wailed, burying her face in his chest. "And i-it's gonna be because of meeeee…!"

"Hey hey, it'll be alright! It's gonna be fine, Zero Two!" Hiro began to slowly rub her head comfortingly, trying to calm down the hysterical girl in his arms. "Here's what we're gonna do…"

XXX-XXX-XXX

Hiro re-entered the living room to find it empty, TV off and mechas left alone in their arena. "Guys?" He called out, dreading what would happen in the next few minutes.

"Oh, we're over here, Hiro!" Came Simon from a nearby room. Following the voice of the older man, Hiro ended up in what he assumed was the dining room, judging from the large table in the middle of the room as well as the small opening to where he could see the kitchen was.

The other three were already seated, a large bowl of brown bubbling stew, fives small bowls of rice, and a plate of bread set out before them. Nia has already began spooning some of the stew into the rice bowls.

Simon was basically drooling at the meal while Viral seemed extremely wary. Nia seemed to just be happy with Simon's reaction and was taking great care to especially fill up his bowl in particular.

"Hurry up and get over here, Hiro, I wanna eat!" Simon exclaimed, gesturing at the younger boy to sit at the table. "Where's Zero Two?" Asked Nia curiously.

"She, uh, had to take a call. But u-um, wow, this looks amazing!" Hiro stammered. He began to slowly and stiffly walk towards the seat Simon was motioning at. The closer he got, the stronger the stench of the stew became. Viral already looked like he was a step away from death.

Once he was close enough, Simon reached out and grabbed Hiro before basically throwing the younger boy into the seat next to the older man.

Simon slammed his palms together into a prayer, and shouted, "Thank you for the meal, Nia!" Once this was weakly echoed by the other two, Simon immediately began digging into his food.

Nia stared lovingly at Simon as he demolishing his meal, and by the time he started on his second bowl, the other two had barely even touched their own food.

When Nia turned her bright smile to them, Viral and Hiro scurried to not disappoint or insult the woman by not eating. Viral began to slowly and methodically shove spoon after spoon of rice and stew into his mouth and while Nia beamed happily at the beastly looking man, Hiro could see it. He could see how each and every mouthful was killing another piece of Viral's soul.

Hiro began to hesitantly start on his own bowl. He grimaced at the sludge-like substance within his spoon, before scooping a generous amount of rice alongside it. Hopefully, the rice-to-stew ratio was large enough that the stew wasn't as bad.

Unfortunately, Hiro found that out to be entirely untrue once the spoon entered his mouth. The taste of the sludge he was unwilling to call food was utterly disgusting, filling his mouth with its putrid scent and overwhelming his every sense. Hiro's eyes watered as his entire body trembled under the stew's assault.

Out of the corner of his teary eyes, Hiro spotted Nia watching him expectantly. Clenching his fists as the sludge made its way down his throat, Hiro offered a shaky smile to the older woman, putting up a trembling thumbs up. Clapping her hands in delight, Nia smiled back happily.

The second she looked away Hiro ducked under the table to silently dry heave a couple times. A muted cough from the other side of the table made him look up with lidded eyes, meeting a pale Viral's own pained gaze. 'We. Have. To. Get. Out. Of. Here,' the blonde man mouthed. Hiro nodded rapidly. 'Zero. Two. Wait. For. Zero. Two,' he mouthed back. With a determined nod, a spark of defiance returned to the older man's eyes.

The two of them ducked back up from underneath the table. Thankfully, Nia was too busy happily spoonfeeding Simon from his lap to notice their long absence while Simon looked to be enjoying Nia's loving doting too much to care.

With a grimace, Hiro and Viral returned to slowly consuming the horrific meal before them. As time went on, Viral threw increasingly frequent desperate glances towards Hiro, who was also wondering how long Zero Two was going to take.

Just when Hiro ran out of rice and was considering running for it, his phone ranged with Zero Two's custom ringtone, a long drawn "Daaaah-ling!" To Viral and Hiro, it was the call of salvation.

Frantically fumbling to get his phone out of his pocket, Hiro desperately answered the call. After holding his phone up to his ear for approximately 3 seconds he stood up, and, Simon and Nia watching in confusion, hysterically exclaimed, "Oh no! Zero Two isn't feeling very good! We'd better get back, wouldn't want her to suffer, y'know?!"

"Uh, she can just rest here…?" Simon said, confused by Hiro's strange behavior. "We're totally okay with-"

"IT'S FINE! We'll just, uh, be taking our leave. Thanks for inviting us, it was really fun~~~" Hiro's voice faded off into the distance as he speed-walked out of the dining room.

"Won't you need a ride…?" Nia asked hesitantly. Viral suddenly stood up, slamming his fist on the table. "I'LL GO! I mean, er, thanks for the meal, Simon, Princess Nia, but I should be taking my leave as well. I'll just leave Enkidudu in your care for now thaaaanks~~~" Viral's voice also gradually diminished as he chased after Hiro.

"Huh." Simon gave a confused glance to Nia. "That was strange." Shrugging, Nia cheerfully returned to feeding Simon, who was more than happy to bask in her pampering.

XXX-XXX-XXX

Nervously hifting from foot to foot, Zero Two anxiously waited outside the front door of the house, her phone clutched in her hand and Strelizia's specialized case at her side. Packing the mecha has taken longer then she had expected, especially since she had to do it quietly, so she hoped the phone call that was planned as an excuse to leave wasn't too late and that her darling didn't have to eat too much of the abomination of cooking she had helped make.

Speaking of her darling, Hiro chose right then to burst out of the door and collapse at her feet. "D-darling?!" Zero Two worriedly crouched down to check on him when a panic stricken Viral came running out as well. "Just pick him up and throw him in the car! We have to go, NOW!" He hysterically shouted, sprinting past the two of them to his car.

With wide eyes, Zero Two lifted one of her darling's arms over her shoulders and dragged him and the case over to Viral's car. Tossing in Strelizia, Zero Two much more gently helped a barely conscious Hiro into the car. The second Zero Two shut the side door, Viral slammed the gas pedal with all the strength he could still muster after eating Nia's cooking. With a loud screech, the car sped away, leaving only tire marks in its wake.

XXX-XXX-XXX

"Darling? How are you feeling?"

Hiro tiredly opened his eyes to see a worried Zero Two hovering over him. He shakily smiled up at her. "A lot better, especially with how well you've been taking care of me. Thank you, Zero Two."

She smiled back at him in relief. "I'm glad. Nursing you back to health is the least I could do. Now come here, let's get you some water."

Carefully, Zero Two helped Hiro ease himself up into a sitting position on his bed. Sitting down next to him, she slowly lifted a half-empty cup of water to his lips and gently tilted both the cup and his head back. After he had drunk all the water within, Zero Two pulled the cup away. She planted a kiss on his cheek and reached down to squeeze his hand before getting up for a refill.

Once they had gotten away from Simon and Nia's house, Zero Two had guided a mildly delirious Viral to the dorms the students stayed at. After helping her carry Hiro, who was still shifting in and out of consciousness, inside the building, Viral had promptly collapsed on the floor.

Zero Two was able to get Hiro comfortably situated in his bed and call Kokoro to ask how to nurse Hiro before Viral was able to get himself off the ground. After she offered her heartfelt thanks and apologies to the older man (who had waved them off), Viral had returned to his car and left, narrowly missing a lamppost on his way out. Zero Two hoped he had gotten home safe.

Spending the rest of Saturday and half of Sunday nursing her darling back to health from food poisoning wasn't exactly what she had in mind for the weekend, but Zero Two couldn't find much of a reason to complain. After all, it was because of her that her darling was so sick, so being able to help him recover seemed like an appropriate punishment, however un-troublesome she might've thought the task. Any time spent with her darling was time well spent in her book. Still, she had been slightly worried.

Thankfully, it seemed he was already on the road to recovery. When Hiro had just regained consciousness later that Saturday, he could barely move at all. After a good night's sleep and an excessive amount of doting on Zero Two's part, Hiro was able to get up and move freely - not that she let him, of course. Zero Two was more than happy with ordering Hiro to stay in bed and take care of him. The dark haired boy knew better than to disobey her - especially when she was acting this way.

On her way to the kitchen, Zero Two was noticed by Ichigo, who was at a table doing schoolwork with Goro and Ikuno. Miku and Kokoro were also there, sitting on one of the couches.

"Ah, Zero Two!" The pink haired girl met her eyes in question. "Is Hiro feeling better?" Ichigo asked.

Zero Two smiled happily. "Yes, he said he's feeling a lot better now!"

Ikuno looked up from the book she was reading. "You know, we would be glad to help…" she drawled out.

Shaking her head rapidly, her pink hair swishing around her, Zero Two adamantly said, "No! I wanna do this on my own!" Ikuno rolled her eyes with a small smile before returning to her book.

"Well," Goro laughed, "just remember we'll always be glad to help." Noises of agreement echoed from the other members of the room.

"Thanks," Zero Two grinned, "but I won't need any. I'll nurse darling back all by myself!" Miku quietly giggled while Kokoro gently smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. "I'm sure you will," she said comfortingly after Zero Two as she continued on her way to the kitchen.

Soon after, she returned to Hiro's and Goro's shared room with a full cup of water. Placing it down on a table, Zero Two made her way to Hiro's side. He was still propped up against the headboard of his bed, but it seemed he had dozed off. She smiled at how peaceful he looked. Gently getting on to the bed, Zero Two snuggled into his side, clutching one of his arms close to her chest. Laying her head on his shoulder, she shut her eyes with a sigh of contentment.

Sudden movement startled Zero Two out of the short nap she ended up having. She opened her pale green eyes to meet Hiro's blue gaze. "Hey there, darling."

Silently, Hiro gently pulled Zero Two into his lap. She was more than happy to comply, straddling her darling with great care. A giggle escaped her when Hiro softly planted his face into the crook of her neck. "That tickles, darling!" Feeling him smile against her skin set off another bout of giggles.

"Thank you, Zero Two," He mumbled. She scoffed and angrily looked away. "For giving you food poisoning?" Hiro pulled her tighter against his chest. Zero Two's arms rose up to cup his head against her.

"For taking care of me. It's not your fault Simon has a stronger stomach than I do." She sighed sadly. "I just wanted to cook something nice for you."

"And you will! I know you will," Hiro said comfortingly. Zero Two smiled at the fact that her darling, the sick one, was reassuring her, the one who was supposed to be nursing him back to health.

"But until then, do you mind just holding me?"

Zero Two's smile grew. "Never, darling. Never." She kept his head cradled against her body until she felt his breathing even out, before drifting off to sleep herself, her darling safe in her arms.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

Jeez, this sure took a stupid long time to write. I got stuck on multiple parts because I wasn't sure how to naturally go on to the the next scene, and then I spent a lot of my free time playing video games, and a whole bunch of other excuses. I had no intention of it being literally the longest thing I've ever written on , and yet here it is. It's not even that much of a Hiro/Zero Two fic, smh. And I know that Zero Two didn't even really "cook" anything and it was basically all Nia, buuuuut whatever. That's one of those details that I've gotta ask you as readers to ignore.

The whole mecha fighting thing kinda just popped into my head while writing and it may or may not have gotten out of control. I hope no one thought it was too annoying. In related news, holy hell that Strelizia figure. I really really want it, but at the same time, I know I don't need it. It's so beautiful, but it costs money. Why must life be so cruel?

Hopefully the minor Gurren Lagann crossover didn't bother anyone too much either. Originally, I was gonna end the story with Nia's cooking, but I've decided to add a third chapter with my Modern!AU version of Ryuko Matoi (basically the same one in Resolve and Relaxation, but with none of the canon events happening). Might as well connect all my favorite Trigger series together, amirit? I'll definitely expand more on the this Highschool!AU eventually, I promise. Just don't expect a full story until after DitF is completed.

This part of the authors' note was written after watching Ep16. I was hoping to post this chapter before then, but oh well. Thankfully nothing super big and monumentally character changing happened but what a coincidence it was a cooking episode lol. Zero Two was a lot more chill than I'd thought she'd be. Guess my super affectionate version isn't too accurate. But Hiro just had to have that line about piloting, didn't he? Sigh. Whatever, my Hiro is still an avid mecha fighting fan. The whole fishing part was pretty funny with Zero Two being a master, Goro being pretty good as well, and Hiro being trash. I'm sure I could make up a fic about that, although I may have to study up on fishing. Zero Two getting friendly with the rest of the team was also really cute.

What I'm most looking forward to learning more about is that klaxosaur girl. Zero Two's sister? Her mother? The original that Zero Two was made a clone of? What's the deal with the Strelizia-on-steroids looking Franxx behind her? Or those six klaxo-arms? Is she the true villain? Or is she going to turn into an ally against APE? So many questions.

Anyways, thanks for reading! Be sure to leave a review, and hopefully I can get out the next chapter sooner than this one. I'll probably write some shorter fluff pieces first though.

YOOO that fucking Ep17 preview. Hyped af. Kinda sucks it took almost 2 weeks to get this one chapter posted, but it's almost 6k so it's okay.


	3. Chapter 3

The promised Chapter 3. Took awhile to write, and may have ended up not having enough focus on Hiro and Zero Two but oh well. Hope you enjoy, and don't forget to leave a review.

* * *

A familiar mop of black hair caught her eye amongst the roving crowds of people below.

"Hmmm?" Zero Two hummed curiously, slightly leaning a bit further over the railing of the mall's much less populated second floor. Was that Darling she had spotted?

She glanced back behind her at Miku and Kokoro, who were gushing over something or another in a shop window display. A couple feet away, Ichigo and Ikuno were busy inspecting a map of the mall.

The mall itself had only opened recently and had already attracted quite a few customers for its grand opening. The girls had invited Zero Two along to scout out the new possible hang-out, and she was more than happy to come along. It was Friday night, not like there was much else she was going to be doing.

Besides, friends had always been scarce throughout her life, so she was always glad to spend time with them whenever she could.

There was one downside to this, however. Time spent with her friends meant time not spend with her Darling - a difficult choice. Well… not really. She'd choose Darling over and over again in a heartbeat, but Darling was happy whenever she did something social without him, and if Darling was happy then she was happy. Being with the other girls was also, quite admittedly, a fun and enjoyable time.

A win-win scenario, except for the small (but not really) part of her brain that only wanted her Darling.

The black mop of hair was getting further and further away.

...that part of her brain was getting particularly loud.

She mentally shrugged. She had her phone on her. Meeting back up with the girls would be easy.

"Hey-guys-imma-be-right-back-okay-bye-call-me." Zero Two shouted over her shoulder as she took off for the stairs, a single hand lazily thrown in the air as a goodbye.

"Huh-wha? Zero Two?! Where are you going?!"

Ichigo sighed. Either Zero Two didn't hear her over the chatter of the mall or just didn't care(the much more likely answer). "I swear, that girl sometimes…" she muttered, shaking her head in exasperation.

"She'll be fine," Ikuno drawled, still trying to figure out the map. How hard was it to add a single goddamn 'You Are Here' sticker?

* * *

After a dangerous but extremely fun slide down the stair railing, Zero Two was in the midst of the crowd rapidly making her way towards where she had spotted her Darling, halfhearted apologies thrown towards the people she had unceremoniously pushed and shoved out of the way. She could always feel bad later.

Seeing the black mop of hair again, Zero Two smirked. Creeping up behind her unsuspecting victim, she got closer…

And closer…

And then pounced!

"Daahling!" She cried cheerfully, glomping her Darling and throwing her arms around his neck happily.

"What the fuck?!"

Immediately, Zero Two noticed a couple worrying details.

That voice… was most certainly not her Darling's. It was rougher, fiercer, and yet decidedly not male.

Her Darling was also not as short as the person she was currently hugging, of that she was sure.

And possibly most distressing of all - the scent was distinctly different. If Darling was oranges, then this was lemons. A tad more sour than her Darling's sweet smell.

Zero Two quickly jumped off the person she had basically assaulted.

The stranger spun around, revealing themself to be a girl about Zero Two's own age. Her black shoulder-length hair swung against her cheek with the speed of her turn.

Confused steel blue eyes met her own wide pale green, and Zero Two froze in embarrassment and shock. This girl actually looked a _lot_ like Darling. The two stared at each other in awkward silence. "U-uh…" the pink-haired girl began to stammer.

"What are you doing?" From the right, a voice like steel cut Zero Two out of her stupor.

She broke the staring contest to turn towards the voice, thankful for the distraction from her awkward situation.

Regret was her immediate reaction, as she came face to face with a terrifying looking woman with narrowed dark blues eyes, long black hair, some sincerely impressive eyebrows, and a height that actually made her have to look up.

Zero Two was tall. That much was true. There were very few people that were taller than her, but none of them had ever been intimidating, in her opinion.

But this woman terrified her.

A truly oppressive aura forced itself down on Zero Two's shoulders, and coupled with her current utterly mortified state, the usually confident and proud girl was practically shaking, unconsciously bending her knees and sinking a bit closer to the floor.

She quickly looked back and forth between the shorter confused girl on her left and the taller scary woman glaring down at her from the right, mouth opening and closing in silence, blood slowly rushing to her cheeks and ears.

"U-UH I'M SO SORRY! I-thought-you-were-someone-else-SORRY!"

Apology made, Zero Two sprinted off as fast as she could, face burning red in embarrassment.

Quietly, the two watched Zero Two run away. "What the fuck?" The shorter girl repeated, breaking the silence.

"Ow!" She rubbed the back of her head where she had just been smacked.

"Language." The older woman reprimanded, eyes still on the retreating pink-haired girl's back. A currently forgotten memory from the recesses of her mind was saying there was something strangely familiar about that girl, something that she should recognize…

A thought for another time, she supposed.

* * *

When Zero Two eventually made her way back to the second floor, the other girls had yet to move.

Instead, they watched as a quiet Zero Two walked up the stairs with her head low and sat down on a nearby bench, a heavy aura of depression and embarrassment around her.

"...well. I wonder what happened to her?" Ikuno idly mused, the others looking on in concern.

It took almost thirty minutes before Zero Two was back to her usual lively self, yet any questions about her brief disappearance made her instantly clam up, cheeks bright red.

The girls silently agreed to interrogate her another day.

* * *

"...you know what?"

Hiro leaned back in his seat, popping another slice of the sushi roll into his mouth. He slightly tilted his head at the question. "What, Zero Two?"

After a rather uneventful morning, the two did what they always did every Saturday evening. 'Experimental Afternoons' were what his eccentric girlfriend had dubbed it.

She frowned, lifting her head from the table to look at the variety of different types of sushi that were covering her nude body. "I don't think I like this." She gently placed her head back down. "It feels so… one-sided?"

Delicately picking up another slice of sushi, Hiro raised an eyebrow. "You liked when we did bondage," he pointed out, tossing the sushi into his mouth. "They're practically the same thing. Being unable to move while your lover does that whatever they want with your body, similar concepts and all that."

Zero Two sighed. "Yeah, well, bondage is fun. This isn't. I dunno, darling, it doesn't feel as... intimate, I guess. Besides, you're just eating food. That's _boring._ "

Hiro nodded thoughtfully. "I can see why you'd think that." He plucked a piece of salmon from Zero Two's stomach, silently admiring the faint outline of her abs. As he absentmindedly putting the slice of fish into his mouth, Hiro licked his index finger. With his saliva coated finger, he slowly traced a wet line between her abdominal muscles, a satisfied smirk appearing on his face as she suddenly shivered and softly whimpered in pleasure - he always had a weak spot for Zero Two's abs.

Shaking off the effects of his teasing, she huffed in exasperation and pouted. "Daahling! I'm trying to complain here!"

A bark of laughter escaped his lips. "Yeah yeah, sorry. Go on."

"Hmph! What I'm _trying_ to say is that we should just do something else." She propped herself up on an elbow. "C'mon darling, help me get this stuff off." Zero Two began grabbing the wide assortment of food covering her body at random and shoving them into her mouth.

"Or we can… uh… y'know, just put it in the refrigerator?"

Zero Two gave him an incredulous look. "I love you, darling, but that's the stupidest idea I've ever heard." She resumed her feast.

With a roll of his eyes, Hiro laughed. "Sorry, sorry."

Reaching for another piece of salmon, he began to help out Zero Two.

The two ate in silence for a couple minutes, the quiet occasionally broken by Zero Two pointing out how delicious a certain type of food was followed by Hiro humming in agreement.

A sudden thought came to Hiro, in the midst of eating a shrimp finger sushi. The shrimp brought back memories of yesterday, when he and the other guys had eaten out at a restaurant with some really good shrimp tempura.

He jotted down a mental note to bring Zero Two there someday.

But that wasn't important. What was important was that the memory had made him remember the girls had gone to the new mall.

"Oh yeah, Zero Two, how was the mall with the girls? Did you have fun?"

Zero Two nodded. "Mhm! They have this really good noodle shop and a ton of other cool stores! Even Ikuno had to be dragged away from this bookshop!" She laughed and sat up on the table. "I actually had this really funny encounter. I thought I saw you at the mall, so I snuck up from behind and hugged you, but it turns out it was someone else! And it was a girl!" Zero Two laughed again. "But the funny thing is - she actually really looked like you! If you had longer hair and darker eyes. It could've been your sister!" With a giggle, Zero Two finished her story, looking expectantly at her Darling.

Her giggling slowly died down when she realized Hiro was staring at her with a strange expression. She felt her face start to heat up.

"Da-darling…? T-this is the part where y-you laugh along so I don't feel so embarrassed…"

Hiro's face didn't change.

"Oh _god!_ Wwhhhyyyy!" She cried out, burying her blushing face into her hands. "It was the _worst_ experience of my _life!"_

With a start, Hiro snapped out of his daze.

"O-oh no, Zero Two, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to - I mean, heh, I guess that is pretty funny…?" He finished lamely, utterly failing to comfort his borderline hysterical girlfriend, who continued to scream incoherently into her hands.

"Ah jeez," Hiro mumbled, getting up from his seat and climbing onto the table with Zero Two. He sure hoped the table would support their weight. Reaching out, Hiro gently pulled her hands away from her face, instantly taking her lips with his own.

Zero Two blinked in surprise, before happily melting into the kiss.

"Here, let me help you forgot about this…" Hiro smiled as they broke apart. He slowly began to drift downwards...

"Huh? Darling? What do you mean - oh! Oh yes, I like where this is goin - OH! Mmm, do that again!"

* * *

Zero Two inspected the massive doors in front of her with a raised eyebrow, hands on her waist. Behind her, Darling was thanking the tall old butler-looking man that had brought them up here.

"Sooo… what about this is a surprise? Why are we on a skyscraper? How the heck did you get a butler? And why'd we have to come somewhere so far away on a Sunday? The drive took forever." She pouted. "I wanted to sleep in with Darling…"

With a smile, Hiro reached an arm around her shoulders and brought her close to his chest, pressing a kiss against her cheek. She happily basked in her Darling's affections.

"Sorry, Zero Two. But hey, you always said you wanted to meet my family, and well, my sisters live here." Unnoticed by Hiro, Zero Two had instantly froze at the word 'family'. "Soroi's their butler. I don't think he does much nowadays though."

"F-family!? Sisters!?" _Sisters! Darling's sisters! Darling had sisters!? What!? She thought Darling was- WHAT!?_

Hiro raised an eyebrow. "Yes...? I mean, not really-"

"Darling! You should've _told_ me!" Zero Two began combing her fingers through her pink hair and pulling at her clothes, trying to smooth and straighten them and look as presentable as possible.

Hiro could only look on in confusion. "H-huh?"

"Oh no oh no what if they think I look stupid?! What if they think I'm not good enough for you?! Wha-what if they have an arranged marriage for you? What if- what if they hate meeee?! I knew I should've worn my cute dress!"

"Z-zero Two…? Zero Two. Zero Two!"

The girl blinked in surprise as Hiro grabbed her shoulders and literally shook her out of her crazed ranting.

"Huh wha-?"

"It'll be fine, Zero Two. They'll love you," he reassured his frantic girlfriend, comfortingly rubbing her shoulders. A sly smile grew on his lips as he knocked against the massive doors. "Besides, you've already met."

"We've already what?"

One of the massive doors swung open, and a familiar face greeted them. Zero Two's jaw dropped.

"Hiro! Long time no see!" Hiro's smile grew as he hugged the short girl from yesterday.

"Hey, Ryuko. I brought my girlfriend, although you two might have met."

Zero Two's face grew an interesting shade of pink as the girl looked around Hiro with wide eyes. "Oh hey, it's the cute girl from the mall! Damn, Hiro, nice!" Her blush grew.

The girl-who-kinda-looked-and-smelled-like-Darling-but-wasn't turned her head back into the massive house and hollered, "Hey Satsuki! Hiro's here and his girlfriend is that girl from yesterday!"

When she saw the other woman from the mall, just as tall and scary looking as she was back then, poke her head around a corner, Zero Two quietly whimpered, her blush and embarrassment both increasing in their intensity. "Nooooo~"

Hiro laughed, throwing an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. "Isn't this great? C'mon, let's go in!"

"Noooo, darling - why would you dooo this…? Noooooo~~"

Watching the two, Ryuko's eyes lit up in understanding. She reached out with a grin, catching Zero Two's wrist with a surprisingly strong grip as Hiro took ahold of Zero Two's other arm.

Against the combined strength of Hiro and Ryuko, her resistance was useless. Zero Two could do nothing but despair as she was dragged into the penthouse.

* * *

By all means, Zero Two should've felt comfortable - extremely so, in fact.

The loveseat she was sitting on was disturbingly comfy, and Darling had his arm around her shoulders, holding her close against his chest.

Under normal circumstances, she would've been relaxed beyond all belief, happily soaking in the warmth of her Darling, blissfully breathing in his scent.

But she was not relaxed. The complete opposite, actually. Sitting straight up, spine as stiff as a board, Zero Two stared intensely at her clenched hands in her lap. A blush was clearly visible on her cheeks.

Not even Darling's hand comfortingly rubbing her arm was helping the complete and utter sense of embarrassment she felt from being in front of the two sitting across the table from them.

A concerned Ryuko raised an eyebrow. "Is she… alright?"

With a small smile, Hiro waved his free hand nonchalantly. "It's fine. She's fine." His smile grew when he noticed from the corner of his eye Zero Two's small pout.

Hiro focused his gaze on to Ryuko. "But I've been wanting to ask. You've been taking cooking lessons?" He felt Zero Two slightly perk up beside him. "How's that going for you? Satsuki sounded quite proud when she was telling me about it over the phone."

"Proud? Reeally…?" Ryuko smirked, peering closely at the older girl. She recoiled when Satsuki flicked her nose.

"Ow! Damnit Satsuki!"

"Don't get cocky, you brute. I'm simply glad you've found an outlet that isn't picking fistfights with hooligans."

"Pft! Who uses the word 'hooligans'?!"

"Not everyone has only two brain cells, Matoi Ryuko."

"Why you-!"

"Anyways," Hiro loudly said before their quarreling could go on any further. While amusing, he knew they could become rather time-consuming, and that worked against what he was trying to accomplish. He came here for a reason, after all. "I wanted to ask, how far are you aiming with your lessons? Are you going to make a career out of it or what?"

Ryuko threw one last dirty look at Satsuki, who responded with rolling her eyes, before facing Hiro with a shrug. "As far as I can, I suppose. I enjoy it, and money certainly isn't an issue with good ol' Satsuki." Here, she jokingly elbowed the taller woman, who halfheartedly shoved away Ryuko's arm. "Plus, with her influence, I can probably find a high paying job or whatever straight off the bat instead of sludging it through fast food joints and stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if the company had some food branch or something, either."

"It does," Satsuki said into her cup of tea.

"See!" Ryuko smiled. "I'm pretty set for life, to be honest!"

Zero Two suddenly stood up and bowed at a hard 45-degree angle, surprising Ryuko, who yelped, and Satsuki, who simply raised an eyebrow. Hiro had no reaction, almost as if he was expecting it.

"U-um! C-could you… could you teach me h-how to cook?!" The pink-haired girl stammered.

Taken aback, a wide-eyed Ryuko hesitantly responded. "Uh, sure?"

"R-right now?!"

"I mean, it's only 10…?" Ryuko caught Hiro's eye, who was nodding his head intently, his message clear. "But hey, who can say no to an early lunch? Hell, we'll call it a brunch!" She laughed loudly at her own joke while the others remained silent. "C'mon, let's go to the kitchen!"

"Th-thank you!"

The high-schooler marched out the door they had come in through, Zero Two quickly kissing Hiro's cheek before eagerly following along.

After placing her cup back on its saucer, Satsuki knowingly glanced at Hiro. "This was your plan all along, wasn't it?"

Leaning back into the couch with a smirk, the boy shrugged. "I'm not saying anything."

She rolled her eyes, her own small smirk on her lips. "Quite an interesting choice of a girlfriend you've got there."

Again, Hiro shrugged. "Can't choose who you fall in love with." He gave her a pointed look with a laugh. "You should know that better than anybody."

Satsuki remained silent, picking her cup back up and taking a sip. Her smile said more than enough.

* * *

"Woooooah!" Zero Two gasped as she saw more of the penthouse. Ryuko had brought Hiro and Zero Two to a smaller room to the side of the entrance, so she had only caught a glimpse of the massive living room further in. Now that she could see all of it, Zero Two was truly amazed by its sheer size. "It's huge!"

"Haha, yep," Ryuko chuckled. "I had the same reaction. Satsuki's pretty loaded."

"I-I've been meaning to ask. Are you two and Darling really related? Because I thought Darling was-"

"Darling?"

Zero Two nodded. "Darling."

Ryuko stared at her for a couple seconds before a lightbulb visibly went on in her eyes.

"Oh, you mean Hiro! Nah, it's an honorary thing. My dad… was kinda an asshole. He'd dump me somewhere and then fuck off for a couple months, before coming back to pick me up and dump me somewhere else."

Opening the pantries, she began digging out certain ingredients and handing them to Zero Two, who dutifully placed them in an orderly fashion on the large kitchen island.

"During one of those periods, I met Hiro. As you know, I'm sure, Hiro's smooth as fuck, always has been."

Zero Two nodded proudly, humming in agreement.

"Little baby Ryuko basically fell in love. He was one of the few people who actually gave a shit about me back then. The idea that someone cared absolutely blew my mind."

Zero Two's nodding intensified. She knew exactly what the girl meant.

"We even looked alike, as you've obviously noticed," Ryuko smirked. Zero Two pointlessly tried to hide her blush behind her hands. "It felt nice, to pretend I had a sibling. Well, I mean I do have a sibling. But I thought I was an only child for most of my life. Like I said, my dad's an asshole."

Ryuko scowled.

"And like the asshole he was, he went ahead and died right before I started high school. And turns out I did have a mom. A sister too! I mean, turns out good old mom was batshit insane but whatever. I ended having to go live with them and attend the local high school. Met Satsuki, and my life ended up great."

Ryuko rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I still regret introducing Hiro and Satsuki to each other. Those two get along disgustingly well. I sometimes wonder if they're the ones that are real siblings."

She pulled out a big pot and a couple pans.

"But I'm gonna shut up now. We're not here to talk about backstories, we're here to cook some fucking food! And what better dish than the amazingly delicious! Simple to make! Japanese delicacy! Ramen noodles!"

Reaching down, Ryuko pulled out two aprons and tossed one to Zero Two. "Safety first!" She winked knowingly. "Also these are cute as fuck and Hiro's gonna love it."

Zero Two blushed again.

* * *

"And that's how Zero Two and I got together!" Hiro finished with a grin.

Satsuki rolled her eyes. "I am genuinely disgusted by how cute that is."

* * *

"You tried to learn cooking from _Nia?"_

"Y-yes?" Zero Two meekly answered.

Shaking her head, Ryuko tutted. "You poor baby."

* * *

"I ended up being sick in bed for about two days."

"Sounds about right."

* * *

Ryuko looked inside the large pot in which four servings of egg noodles were floating in boiling water, and nodded approvingly. She turned to the large pile of ingredients and dug through them, pulling out three small packages and laying them on the table before her pink-haired partner.

"Since it's gonna take a while for so many noodles to cook, we can go ahead and start on the soup. You see, Zero Two, the thing is that most people can't stomach too many flavors at once. Less is admittedly sometimes better."

The taller girl nodded, enlightened by the wise words of her teacher.

"That's why the soup is only gonna be one flavor. The most common choices are miso, pork, and soy sauce." Ryuko gestured towards the small packages.

Zero Two stared at the three packets closely, clearly trying to determine which one her Darling would like the most. She gave each an experimental sniff.

Watching in concern, Ryuko gently but firmly pushed the girl's head away when she tried to lick the plastic packages.

"Hiro likes pork." The black-haired girl said helpfully.

Eyes lighting up, Zero Two snatched up the middle packet. "This one!"

Ryuko rolled her eyes with a smile.

* * *

"And that's why I don't like teddy bears."

Wide-eyed, Hiro nodded. "Wow. That's quite the story."

Satsuki dramatically raised her hand to her forehead. "Simply retelling the story had brought back all the past trauma." She sighed in false dismay.

He snickered.

* * *

Zero Two watched in awe as Ryuko carefully filled the four bowls of noodles with soup.

"Wow Ryuko, you're so skilled!"

"I-I mean, I'm just pouring soup…?"

The taller girl nodded earnestly, eyes shining in admiration.

Slightly uncomfortable with the praise, Ryuko looked away with a slight blush.

"*cough* Anyways, now we add the toppings."

Zero Two perked up. "Like sugar? Or candy?"

Ryuko gave her a puzzled look. "What? No!" Her blue eyes narrowed in concern. "Have you really used those as toppings?"

"...no."

"...well, I have some braised pork in the fridge. We can use that, chopped green onions, and that package of roasted seaweed."

"Okay!"

"Jesus fuckin- no no no put that down! There's a bag of chopped green onions right there!"

"Aww."

* * *

"Daaahling! We're done!" Zero Two cried happily, poking her head around the edge of the doorway.

Hiro looked up from where he was going through Satsuki's extensive collection of photos of Ryuko in embarrassing outfits. Satsuki had gone through the extra effort to have them all printed and professionally organized in a photo book, and he'd be damned if he let her efforts go to waste.

In turn, Satsuki was on his phone, scrolling through all the pictures he had of Zero Two.

A mutual exchange, they had called it.

Carefully bookmarking where he was, Hiro gently shut the book and got up, swapping the photobook for his phone with Satsuki. He nodded, and the older woman silently mirrored his gesture.

Hiro stepped out first, Satsuki staying behind to stash her book in its hiding spot. As he turned the corner, he almost choked at what he saw.

Zero Two in a full-on French maid getup: short frilly skirt, stockings, heels, and generous cleavage included.

"Z-Zero Two!"

She smiled sensually. "You like what you see, dahling?"

Hiro could only silently nod, his throat suddenly too dry for words.

Taking his arm and tightly holding it close to her chest, Zero Two leaned in close to whisper in a red-faced Hiro's ear. "Come on, darling… aren't you… hungry?"

"Well isn't that something." A dry voice cut through the air.

Zero Two yelped and immediately jumped away like she was burned, face bright red before Satsuki's smirk.

"No no, go on. It was just getting interesting."

Her blush grew brighter.

"Tch, leave them alone, Satsuki." Came Ryuko's voice as she walked around the corner.

The tall woman was abruptly subject to a sudden fit of coughs as she caught sight of Ryuko in a similar attire to Zero Two, and quickly turned away.

"Is that a nosebleed?" Hiro asked incredulously.

"No, it's not." Satsuki hissed.

Ryuko rolled her eyes and grabbed Satsuki's arm, dragging her past the other two. "C'mon, the food's getting cold."

A blushing Hiro held out his hand to an equally red Zero Two. She accepted his hand, and squealed as he suddenly pulled her close to his chest, his nose just barely touching her own. She could feel his hot breath against her lips and his scent suddenly grew tenfold.

"Gotta be careful with those heels. It'd be awful if you tripped." He whispered, staring deeply into her pale green eyes.

As her blush intensified, Hiro followed after the two sisters with a satisfied smirk.

* * *

Zero Two stared at Hiro expectantly. "How was it, darling?" She asked eagerly as he finished the last of his noodles.

Smiling brightly, Hiro nodded. "It was delicious!"

A massive smile spread across Zero Two's face. "Really!?" She squealed in happiness. "I'm so happy!"

Hiro laughed, opening his arms. Zero Two happily climbed into his lap, gently nuzzling her nose against his own.

Ryuko frowned at the two and glanced at Satsuki who was still slowly eating her noodles.

"No."

Ryuko rolled her eyes. "I didn't even say anything." She pouted.

* * *

"Th-Thank you very much!" Zero Two loudly said from her bow.

With a laugh, Ryuko gently pulled Zero Two into a hug. "I'm glad we've finally got to meet you, Zero Two." She smirked at the taller boy. "Hiro chose well."

"I know." Hiro simply replied, and grinned when Ryuko playfully punched his arm.

Satsuki stood in front of Zero Two, and silently offered her hand with a small smile. Beaming at the older woman, Zero Two happily accepted the handshake. Her eyes widened as Satsuki pulled her into a hug. "Take good care of him," a smiling Satsuki whispered into Zero Two's ear. "He deserves it."

"Of course." She quietly smiled back.

* * *

"See, Zero Two."

Zero Two slightly tilted her head up from Hiro's chest to look at him questioningly. After being driven back by Soroi, the two had decided to spend the rest of Sunday trying their best to do absolutely nothing and lie in bed.

"That wasn't so bad."

She lightly slapped his arm and closed her eyes again, pouting as his chest rumbled with laughter.

"That was mean, darling."

Hiro pressed a kiss against the top of her head, slowly running a hand up and down her arm in comforting strokes.

"I wanted to show you off." He smiled into her hair. "I love you, after all. And I want everyone to know that I love you. You mean too much to me for me not to."

She sighed happily, snuggling deeper into his warmth and reaching up to cup his cheek.

Gently turning his head down, Zero Two stretched up to catch his lips.


End file.
